Japanese officials doctored documents at heart of cronyism scandal, deleting references to PM Abe, wife, minister
Finance Minister Taro Aso admits that his staff changed records related to the below-market sale of government land to a school operator with links to the Abes, but says he will not resign
Japan’s Finance Ministry acknowledged on Monday that it doctored land-sale documents in a widening scandal linked to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife that has rattled his government and caused its support ratings to slide.
Abe quickly apologised on behalf of ministry officials but did not mention his wife, Akie Abe, or her suspected role in the scandal. But documents seen by the Reuters news agency showed that the names of Akie Abe, Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso had been deleted from them.
“People are looking critically at the developments, and I take it seriously,” Prime Minister Abe said, promising a thorough investigation.
The altered documents relate to the 2016 sale of state land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen in Osaka at one-seventh of the appraised value, and the involvement of Akie Abe, who supported the school and its ultra-nationalistic education policy.
In a parliamentary hearing on Monday, Finance Ministry officials confirmed that a reference to Akie Abe having recommended the land deal was deleted from a document after the scandal surfaced.